When you are looking at getting into the hobby of fish keeping. You need to look at a few things.

1. Whats your budget. (something I will cover better later)
2.What are you into. Colors. Teeth. WOW factor


When getting into the hobby you have a few things that you need to look at when sizing a Aquarium.

1. How much weight will your floo hold. 1 gal is over 8lbs.
2. Where will it be placed in your home?
3. Is there a Good power outlet near the tank?

Now for starters if you are on a low budget. of just don't want/need a large Aquarium here is a general rundown of what it will cost.

10gal tank- ~$10
Glass top ~ $15
Strip light ~ $20 and up
Filter ~ $20 and up (the better filter the more money)
Gravel ~ $5-10 (roughly 1lb per gallon)
misc decor ~ $10 and up.


Now there are plenty other things that can be used.

Air pump
Air stone
Air line
Check Valve
Aquarium stand (if your handy a DIY stand would be a good idea)


You are also going to need to get some Water conditioner. This will take harmfull Chlorine and Chloramine. These both are not good for your fish.
A good one to use is prime as seen in this link http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4057

If you are looking at a larger setup say 125gal and up look to drastically increase your initial cost. look at 1K plus.



All of the setup items can also be purchased from craigslist from other peole who have got out of the hobby. there loss your gain.

Very nice thread koop!
I'll sticky it later!